The invention relates to a method of modifying a drilling pattern. In the method, an operator modifies a drilling pattern downloaded into a control unit of a rock drilling rig prior to its execution. The invention further relates to a rock drilling rig having a modifiable drilling pattern downloaded into its control unit. The invention still further relates to a software product implementing the method. The subject matter of the invention is defined more specifically in the preambles of the independent claims.
Usually, rock is excavated according to a predetermined plan. In order for the rock to break down in a desired manner upon blasting, holes are drilled for each round according to a predesigned drilling pattern. Typically, such a drilling pattern determines at least start points and drilling directions of the holes to be drilled. It may additionally determine other drilling-related information, such as drilling depth and hole diameter. Designing drilling patterns is office work carried out outside the drilling site, so the designer of a drilling pattern does not have exactly accurate information on the conditions of the particular drilling site. In addition, drilling patterns are designed in advance, which means that errors possibly occurring during blasting cannot be taken into account while designing the drilling patterns. Consequently, it must be possible to be able to modify the drilling pattern even at the drilling site. It is known that the operator modifies the drilling pattern on a display device of the control unit of the rock drilling rig by using a keyboard, mouse or another pointing device of the user interface of the display unit. However, at least when carrying out more complex modifications, a problem is that it is possible, by accident, to make modifications by the display device that in practice are difficult or even impossible to implement. This is at least partially due to the fact that the display device shows the situation as a two-dimensional pattern, while drilling is a three-dimensional operation.